


The Bet

by ChasedInBlack



Category: Aladdin (2019)
Genre: F/M, Heavy Angst, Manipulative Relationship, Original Character(s), Revenge
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:20:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25908766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChasedInBlack/pseuds/ChasedInBlack
Summary: Laila is just another orphan of Agrabah, trying to make a life for herself as best she can for only being ten years old. There she meets another orphan her age named Jafar and they quickly become attached.They start working as a pair of thieves in Agrabah to get by and depend on each other heavily.Until THEY arrive.
Relationships: Jafar (Disney)/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 2





	The Bet

**Author's Note:**

> This is an origin story for Jafar 
> 
> It is going to hurt eventually
> 
> This IS NOT a love story

I whimpered as I was thrown to the ground, my dress ripping. I looked up at the guard with a scowl before he moved off. I swallowed hard and looked down at the state of my clothing. It was all rags… and now it was torn again.

“Are you ok?” A young boy asked with his hand outstretched to me. I looked up at him before taking his hand. He helped me up and looked at my dress. “Come.” He smiled and pulled me with him through the market. I looked around and slyly before sneaking some bread under the fabric of my dress without being seen. He pulled me inside of an abandoned house and sat me down.

“I can fix that for you.” He told me. I looked at him and breathed in. He came back over and got to sewing my dress back together. I watched him before I pulled out the bread and offered some to him. He blinked at me before taking it. “Did you steal this…?” He asked softly. I nodded slowly and took a bite of my piece. “When…?”

“While going through the market…” I whispered out. He nodded slowly and went back to sewing the torn section of my dress. He finished and looked at it before smiling.

“There. All fixed.” He sighed softly as he sat back and started eating his bread. “Are you an orphan too…?” He asked softly. I nodded as I ate my bread. “What’s your name?”

“Laila.” I told him. He smiled at me.

“Jafar.” He told me. I nodded and relaxed as I ate my bread. I leaned to him, closing my eyes. He startled for a moment before rubbing my back gently. “How did you get away with stealing the bread?” He asked softly.

“Light fingers and fast.” I told him. “I can show you.” I whispered out as I finished my bread.

“In the morning.” He told me as he moved me gently to a cot that could barely be considered a cot. I curled up on it and fell asleep easily. He slept next to me on the floor.

I chuckled softly as I took food while Jafar had the men distracted. I quickly moved away when I got enough for us, moving to go back to the makeshift home that we had been in together for two years.

I squeaked when I ran into a man and fell backward. I looked up at him in panic and froze at the sight of the leader of a band of thieves standing before me, hidden behind his black cloaks. He was staring down at me with a glare before he knelt down and slipped something into my dress pocket.

“Come child. I apologize for knocking you down.” He chuckled softly as he helped me stand up. I looked at him, my heart racing in fear.

I had seen him kill his men in the desert before, I knew he didn’t have a nice side. I straightened myself out and swallowed hard as I looked at him he pushed back my long brown hair and chuckled at me, darkness in his eyes. “So young.” He sighed softly before his eyes darted behind me.

I looked back at him and saw Jafar slowing down as he came running to me. I squeaked as I felt a dagger at my side. I looked up at the man again and stayed silent. “Ah-ah boy.” He chuckled at him which kept Jafar back from me. I swallowed hard and nodded at him that it was ok, even though it wasn’t. “You’re going to come with me girl.” He whispered in my ear. I swallowed thickly and nodded slowly as I looked at him.

“Can I say goodbye to my friend…?” I whispered out. He nodded and gestured Jafar over. I slipped him some of the food I’d taken before the man dragged me away. “Go home.” I called to Jafar before I followed the man. He put me on a camel in front of him before we headed off into the desert, Agrabah fading into the distance.

I looked back before I pulled out the thing the man had put in my dress. It was a simple gold medallion attached to a chord, one side had the profile of a bird of some sort, the other side had a snake. Each side had a jewel embedded in the eye. The lion had a ruby and the snake had an emerald. I tucked it back into my dress and looked forward towards the desert.

“I’ve been looking for someone like you for a while child.” He chuckled at me. I looked up at him and breathed out shakily. I didn’t know what to expect anymore. This man was willing to do anything to find me apparently. “A diamond in the rough… a mere child.” He chuckled at me. I looked up at him curiously.

“Where are we going?” I asked softly. He chuckled as he kept me against him and on the camel. I looked into the desert, breathing out shakily. He didn’t answer me and just kept me close.

We rode on the camel for hours. I was exhausted from the heat of the afternoon and my skin was starting to hate the feeling of sand brushing across it in the wind. He stopped us in the middle of the sand and looked around. I looked up at him, a bit out of it. I heard him pull his sword and he growled as he looked around. His hold on me tightened.

I shrieked as the wind suddenly kicked up and we were suddenly doused in a sand storm. We both fell from the camel and I kept my face down to avoid sand getting in my eyes. He was now lying over my protectively, his sword still drawn to defend us.

“You witch! Come out!” He screamed into the storm. I hid under him a bit more before the wind suddenly stopped and I looked up, seeing a beautiful woman walking over to us.

“Hand over the girl.” She told him. I looked between them, nervous and scared. “She will not get you what you desire. She is destined for greater things.” She told him. I looked up at the man as he stared at her. “She will not be your diamond in the rough.” She growled out. I looked between them as the man kept me away from her. “Give her to me.” She growled at him, the sands shifting around her. I shrunk into his cloaks in fear.

“She doesn’t want to go with you.” He growled with a smirk on his face.

“She didn’t want to go with you either until you put a dagger to her back.” She barked in return.

I shifted out from under him and started to run through the desert away from them. I was scared. I didn’t know what to do but run. I also had no idea which way to go. I’d never been out on the sands alone.

I shrieked when I was enveloped in sand again. I covered my face and whimpered in fear.

“The amulet!” The man screamed from behind me. I turned and looked back at him, blinking through the sand. “It’ll protect you.” He yelled again. I squeezed my eyes shut as the sand whipped harder around me.

I reached into my pocket and pulled it out before I put it on. I gasped in as the sand stopped whipping around me. I opened my eyes and saw I was in a spiral of dust, but none was shifting in my personal space. The wind still blew my hair around.

I heard the woman growl in frustration before she stepped forward through the sand. “What you wear… is a stolen piece of mine.” She told me. I looked down at it and swallowed hard. “It only works with those who have magic potential.” She smirked. “And proves my point!” She barked back at the man.

“She is more of a thief than a sorceress. One lousy necklace doesn’t prove anything.” He barked as the storm dropped. She rolled her eyes as he walked over. He stood next to her and looked at me. “Regardless… she’s still too young.” He told her. She sighed.

“It’s never too young to learn.” She scoffed. “Honestly the younger the better.” She muttered out. “Especially with someone destined to be as powerful as she will be.” She smirked. He sighed.

“Give her the choice then.” He gestured to me. I looked between them, scared and confused. He chuckled as he looked at me. “Told you not to use the sand… you scared her.” He chuckled as he came over and gently stroked my hair back.

“How old are you child?” The woman asked gently. I swallowed hard as I looked at them.

“Twelve.” I told them. The man chuckled and looked at her. “You two were fighting just moments ago…” I whispered out.

“An act, just like you and your friend in the market.” He chuckled at me as he stood behind me. I looked back at him. “We were curious about what you’d choose to do.” He shrugged. I looked between them, breathing in shakily.

“Your choice of self-preservation over submission to end conflict is admirable.” The woman told me gently. I swallowed hard and looked between them.

“Who are you…?” I managed to get out, though every inch of me was terrified.

“Bored gods.” The man chuckled behind me. I quickly turned and looked at him. I was too stunned to speak now but I was slowly filling with fear. “We’ll make a bet every thousand years to entertain ourselves. It’s been a thousand years since our last one… so…” he chuckled. I paled and started to breathe rapidly.

“This time… you are the center of it, along with your friend Jafar.” The woman told me as she cupped my shoulder. “You will find in your studies of magic, a place where you’re deepest desires can be obtained.” She slowly walked around me as she spoke. “You will let him know of this place: The Cave of Wonders.” She told me. I breathed in shakily. “As you grow older… your relationship will morph into something new.” She gently stroked back my hair.

“We shall both teach you.” He chuckled as he stepped closer to me. I looked between them terrified. “You shall become the best thief to grace this desert.”

“And the best sorceress to grace this world.” She growled back at him. He chuckled in return and gave her a cocky grin. “You’ll face plenty of challenges along the way.” She sighed out. I swallowed hard. “Your choices are our bet. The final decision to be exact.” She chuckled darkly. I did not like how that sounded. I was growing more and more scared.

“Why are you telling me this…?” I whispered out, my voice breaking.

“You won’t remember it come morning.” She replied, waving off my question like it was nothing. I froze at that and looked between them. “I believe we’ve come to an agreement then?” She asked the man. He chuckled softly and looked at me, brushing back my hair.

“I believe we have.” He chuckled. “I have faith in her heart.”

“You know my feelings on the matter.” She scoffed. He chuckled.

“Do you really think she’d kill for that?” He chuckled at her. I paled and I felt a pit forming in my stomach.

“He would for less.” She laughed. He chuckled and shrugged at that. “Take her home. Make sure she doesn’t remember.” She muttered out. “We’ll start training soon dear.” She waved us off before she vanished into the sand in a pile of snakes. I shrieked and jumped back behind the man scared. He chuckled as he held me.

“Don’t worry.” He chuckled at me. “They don’t bite.” He chuckled as one slithered towards us. I swallowed hard and looked at them, nervous. He kept me close and rubbed my hair gently. “Sleep well Laila.” He whispered in my ear before the world went dark and I passed out in his arms.

I shot awake, gasping in as I looked around, scared by the dream I just had. I didn’t realize it but I had found myself clutching onto a necklace that hadn’t been there before. I looked at it, perplexed by the image of a bird on one side and a snake on the other. I had no idea where it had come from.

I tucked it into my dress before I looked over and saw Jafar asleep next to me. I swallowed hard and looked around. I was scared but I had no idea why. I slowly laid back down and curled closer to him, wanting to feel safe again. His arm slowly came around me and rubbed my back before I settled into sleep again. I was plagued with nightmares of snakes and sandstorms.

**Author's Note:**

> The pair of deities in this are based heavily on Hermes and Hecate. Since Agrabah is in a land not of earth and has a mixture of cultures in it, I decided to include them as deities since it is extremely difficult to find information on Arabian polytheism.


End file.
